Shortest Generation ever?

So, the NX scuttle indicates Nintendo possibly getting aggressive with this new console in 2016... If indeed the next Nintendo console is upon us over the next calander year or so, we've technically begun generation 9, making the xbox one and the ps4 last generation devices.

Are you already ready for generation 9?

...and who jumps in next? When?

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How long do you realistically see this generation lasting?

Shorter gens = more hardware sales.

I can see sheeple buying up new consoles like Apple phones soon.

I hope so. I'd like to see ps5 by the end of 2017 but i think it'll be released in 2018. Five years with this kind of pathetic specs is dumb.

I hope so. The specs of the PS4 and X1 are just too low. There's no way this gen lasts 6-8 years. Could you imagine trying to play CoD Black Ops XXXX in 5 more years? The systems were struggling at launch and continue to do so.

NX will eliminate the need for new consoles every 5 years so there is no need to fear. But I see this as being the last generation of basic consoles.

@silversix_: @bunchanumbers: is it that we really need better hardware? Or is it that were simply starved, creatively?

I doubt it. If Microsoft hits the reset button then Sony will too. They won't allow another long head start. This generation both companies have a chance to make decent profits

Nintendo is irrelevant....

Its needed, the 3DS has been out for a very long time. I think 2016 is the perfect year for Nintendo to release a new handheld. And with how weak Xbox One and PS4 are this gen, Nintendo would be wise to release a new home console as soon as possiable. There are a lot of customers who might want a new home console.

I think they will wait till the next GPU comes out which is roughly next year. Then you have to assume they will take some time to develop the console so I would say early 2017

Last generation was way too long. I don't ever, ever want another generation that lasts that long ever again. I think 5 years is the sweet spot for a console generation to get your money's worth while not falling too far behind in technology. But I'm ok with the NX launching in 2016 since I feel that I've already got more than my money's worth with the Wii U and the sooner Nintendo launches a new console, the sooner they can make a new Mario Kart with hopefully a good battle mode this time.

My predictions for when the next gen consoles will actually launch are:

NX - 2016

New Xbox - 2018

PS5 - 2019

I personally think the only advantage Nintendo has is jumping in with new hardware in the middle of whatever generation is current.

They seem to be going that route.

Maybe that's not their only advantage seeing as their games have their share of fans, but it sure seems Nintendo thinks they need the mid gen advantage.

If the NX actually raises the power bar as high as the people crying about how weak x1 and PS4 are then yes it will be a short gen. If they don't Nope.. 8 years I bet. Companies profit from long tens.

Lems hope it is. Gamers will decide though. The current pace of sales for both consoles means no.

For PS4, considering the launch of Morpheus, you would factor in at least 3 years of realistic support... you're looking at a new system no sooner than 2019, at the earliest.

PS4 still has a long, long way to go. It's just getting started. Whatever Nintendo does won't likely affect Sony's internal timeline for their next console launch.

Microsoft, on the other hand, is more difficult to read/predict. The Xbox One is doing well, but lags far behind the competition. It would surely be the next system to launch after Nintendo, but it's difficult to predict when that may be.

@getyeryayasout: see, this is my thoughts as well.

This, and..

This.

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These consoles are just now about to hit their stride software wise and they're selling so damn well that I just don't see MS or Sony jumping ship anytime soon.

Which is cool with me. I don't look to consoles for the hardware power, I just want them to have some solid exclusive libraries. Looks like MS and Sony both have some cool shit on the way.

Sony needs to know if PSVR has traction before making strategy for PS5. I can see MS jumping the gun with Nintendo, though.

In the meantime, let's be honest, NX will not be a massive leap over the PS5. The price point needs to be competitive and heat management solutions can be almost as expensive as printing the chip if you're not careful.

It bothers me that the same people whom flipped out about a $600 console last gen are salivating at the chance to spend $800 or more on stop-gap generation consoles. I have some bad news for some people in this thread.. Publishers and developers are not going to break themselves to optimize code differently every 4 years. It's not the 90s anymore.

funny how nobody complained of how underpowered ps4/xbone was when they came out..they were out performing pcs at the time..even game developers were praising them..Suddenly they are just horrible and outdated and need replacing 2 years later..maybe just enjoy and quit using your microscopes to pixel peep..and your calculators to add up fps and res?..just a thought..

What in the hell are you talking about... Everybody complained about them, they've been underpowered since they launched, they were mid-range PC specs two years before they even released....

Nothing has suddenly changed, they've always been shit.

@VanDammFan: Lol were you under a rock they were underpowered on release. Everyone knows they suck

@VanDammFan:

Hahahahah ps4>PC ahha

I hope this is the shortest generation ever. I very much like the idea of moderately powerful consoles releasing every 5 years at a budget friendly price

Why would Sony give Microsoft another free headstart?

See I would think that but I don't think that is really the case. Sony is trying to make VR work and that won't fly on PS4. If you look at the quality of the games shown at PSX you'll see that most of them were just terrible graphically. They look like this because they need to keep the frame rate high so as not to cause motion sickness. I really don't think that VR will fly until Sony releases a PS5. This is just one example but there are others.

And haven't there already been devs who have said that the console specs of ps4 and Xbox One are restricting what they can do? That AC game with the horrible frame rate comes to mind. Same with most games today. Remember how devs were saying that 60 fps is the way to go at launch and that they couldn't go back? Then months later they are telling us that 30 fps is cinematic and where its at. Even if devs don't say it the hardware is already restricting developers and it has been since launch. The proof is in the games themselves. There were frame rate drops even in launch games like Knack. Shadowfall wasn't even 1080p.

But the WiiU has enough power this gen, its only X1/PS4 are too low? I'm sure last gen the Wii was just a ok too.

What a load of horse shit.

And yeah, Nintendo will stop console gens from happening with their ground breaking NX, where as no other consoles will ever need to be released as they'll nail hardware and games will remain at its baseline for years to come.

Golly, Thank you Nintendo.

I think that Wii U does have enough power for this gen. Wii U isn't doing what X1 and PS4 are doing. No console has ever done what Wii U is doing with the power it uses and its likely that no console will ever again.

And if the Nintendo patents are to be believed, it pretty much has solved the problem of needing to upgrade hardware. And I wouldn't doubt it in the least if Sony and MS follow the same route as Nintendo. It will be either do what Nintendo is doing or become cloud based streaming services. Either way I don't see traditional consoles living another 10 years.

Yeah, Nintendo isn't doing 3rd party. That's what I thought your answer would be,

All hail Nintendo who just fucking nails hardware and gives us fans what we want every gen. Only if MS/Sony would follow would gaming fully realize its potential.

fucking horseshit.

Can't wait to buy the NX day fucking 1.

There no need for MS and Sony to releases new console anytime soon because why spend more money trying to market a new product at a lost when they can make turns of money just selling the current ones for years

Actually they do nail hardware. Gamecube minimized loading times while using a format that pretty much prevented piracy until the end of the generation. Wii introduced the motion controls that made the Wii a cultural phenomenon. Wii U balanced not just power but power consumption along with latency free streaming to the gamepad. Whatever they set their mind to in the hardware realm, they have done. Its good that you heil them for their achievements.

If only MS and Sony did follow in their footsteps. Then we'd finally see some real innovation in gaming instead of updated hardware.

@bunchanumbers: VR is certainly one potential Avenue of creativity, but like @getyeryayasout: said in his response beneath yours; far better games have been creative, and innovative using far less tech than is afforded the modern day developer. And that is really what I'm suggesting. There's less need for new hardware as there is a need for new ideas, new perspectives, new risks and new challenges in the games we play.

I, personally puke a little in my mouth when I read about a developer claiming their ideas are being restricted by hardware, given it is almost a certainty that the games they are working on will be the same perspectives and basic designs as all the other games in their respective genre. Especially UBIsoft...

...They started complaining about being restricted last gen, they're given new hardware, which is significantly more powerful than last generation, and they give us Unity? Yikes. Where are those new ideas? Even far cry 4 which is a much better franchise at the moment than creed can be knocked for being nearly identical to its predecessor.... It just doesn't feel like the "hardware is stifling our creativity" piece is genuine.

Of course, maybe some equate gaming advancements with hitting benchmarks (60fps or 1080p etc) and I like all that stuff too, but games need a shot of creativity to keep this hobby vibrant... and an industry with balls enough to support it.

No they dont nail hardware and have missed the ball so badly the last 2 gens, even majot publishers decide their hardware isn't worth making their games for, even when the Wii was out and had biggest install base,

Yeah, ask TC why he hasn't bothered with Nintendo's glorious console hardware the last 2 gens...lol

Oh I know! Here's my WiiU!

Most of the new ideas and risky ventures just are too risky. There's just too much money involved with AAA gaming to take those risks. Publishers and devs are closing their doors all the time. Sony said it best when they said that most of their fringe and experimental games come out of the money that their AAA games make. So in order for those risky experimental games to happen, AAA games need to sell better. This means that they need to be bigger and blockbustery to happen. Which means better hardware and the cycle begins anew.

@Heil68 said:

@bunchanumbers said:

Actually they do nail hardware. Gamecube minimized loading times while using a format that pretty much prevented piracy until the end of the generation. Wii introduced the motion controls that made the Wii a cultural phenomenon. Wii U balanced not just power but power consumption along with latency free streaming to the gamepad. Whatever they set their mind to in the hardware realm, they have done. Its good that you heil them for their achievements.

If only MS and Sony did follow in their footsteps. Then we'd finally see some real innovation in gaming instead of updated hardware.

No they dont nail hardware and have missed the ball so badly the last 2 gens, even majot publishers decide their hardware isn't worth making their games for, even when the Wii was out and had biggest install base,

Yeah, ask TC why he hasn't bothered with Nintendo's glorious console hardware the last 2 gens...lol

Oh I know! Here's my WiiU!

wow looks like you need to clean your place bro.

@bunchanumbers: that's the point though... The "fringe" experiences with risk taking should be the focus, not the charity.

The idea that we "need" better hardware to make less compelling games in order to make enough money so we can make more compelling games is just weird.

Sadly that's the problem with it; its a multi billion dollar a year business. That might be the actual root of the problem. Companies like Sony and MS gave the AAA publishers too much control over their hardware decisions and because of that we're in our current cycle. If they were more like Nintendo and made hardware for their own purposes then I wouldn't be shocked if the AAA publishers would consider making more risky and adventurous games.

@bunchanumbers:

Naw, I'm pretty good actually with the systems that get used, Look at them mother fuckers sparkle!

@Heil68 said:

@bunchanumbers:

Naw, I'm pretty good actually with the systems that get used, Look at them mother fuckers sparkle!

well no accounting for taste I suppose. Nintendo thanks you for your purchase of Wii U and your future purchase of NX though! You should buy 2 to show how angry you are

@bunchanumbers:

You still haven't asked why the TC, a fellow mod and level headed poster hasn't bought the WiiU or bothered with a Wii yet. I'm sensing some skepticism from other users besides myself.

@TheEroica why haven't you bought a WiiU yet, since Nintendo nailed hardware this gen and instead bought the current gen 8 console leader PS4?

I wont buy another WiiU though, 6 new games total for a released console in its 3rd year , 1/2 way through a year didn't give me much to choose from.

I will buy an NX though so I can scrutinize its every detail and have my opinion count since I bought it, why that's worth the price alone and since I'm a tried and true manticore, I own everything.

I'm not mad, I practice the Live, Learn and love philosophy brother. Can I get a fucking HELLLLLL YEAHHHHHH??????

Foot to the floor and pedal to the mother fucking metal.

AWwwwww yeahhhhhh

#legendary.

PC's AAA multiplat support has been so solid due to Steam and I think in tandem with the industry shift to multiplat focus it largely takes the wind of the consoles' sails among enthusiasts. However, the general gaming populace is eating these things up at record pace.

If people want "core" games they need a PC not a console.

Nintendo is launching another system because the Wii U was an absolute failure from a sales perspective, and thus they would rather act now than languish in last place for another 4 years. The mere fact that Nintendo needs to launch another system to stay competitive does not, by extension, mandate that Microsoft or Sony also need release another console. If you want to call that the next generation, sure; the generational concept is just a made up term to begin with, and has no actual meaning.

Whether the PS4 is last gen or current gen, there's no reason to suspect it won't have a long lifespan.

I agree with you. The Current consoles are fine. If these fools are so concerned with specs, they should build a damn pc. I never understood how some people said these consoles were underpowered because they didn't match nvidia titans with i7 at that time of release... wtf... The price for one of those cards alone in 2013 was well over $500 for just the gfx card...

Everyone bitched when PS3 was $500 on release, but now they want that? I call bullshit! 97% of most gamers will not pay that much for a console.

This medium can't survive short gens, so I'm gonna go with no.

I'm in the same boat. There's so many good games out right now I don't have time to play everything. I do not need a whole new set of the 3. (I buy them all every gen). I hope this gen goes for another 3-4 years at least tbh.

Sony and MS won't release any new consoles before November 2018 it would be just too stupid to kill their most successful consoles so fast and as what everyone else said Xone and PS4 might be nowhere close to current mid end pc specs but that's the least of this generation concerns what this generation is lacking so far is software not hardware.

Lmao.... the next set of consoles will still be restricted by thermal performance of the case and power consumption.

Because of this pure fact there will never be a console with high end hardware again.

You can only exhaust so much heat from a tiny console chassis and the heat generated from the high end hardware would be to much.

Can you imagine PS4's tiny chassis having to deal with the hot running Hawaii hardware? No chance.....

Last gen was too long indeed. If Nintendo releases a console that is on par with current gen devices I doubt MS and Sony really care. Ninty will probably get older 3rd party games ported to it and some newer ones, then PS5 and X4 get released and NX tries to hang on in lifesupport (Nintendo 1st party only).

I did however run into this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rulXqo0XB9c a minute ago, where they speculate the leaked patents Nintendo has made. If they can daisy chain hardware together and make it more powerful Nintendo can release a console that is on par with current consoles. With scalable games people can just update the hardware when more demanding games are released, making it more like a PC than a console.

Longest one for me, because I'm not buying new Sony and Microsoft systems any time soon. I will buy a NX though sometime after release and stick with PS4, XB1, NX, laptop and handhelds for many more years to come.

I fucking hate buying new hardware frequently.

I think Nintendo will be on their own gen cycle at this point if the NX does launch next year.

New hardware won't bring creativity. So, I don't understand the need for new hardware that soon.